All this debate over whether to fluoridate our water supply makes me realize how little of our water we actually drink. It seems to me that in today’s economy, spending money the city doesn’t have to fluoridate water that mostly goes down the drain is a huge waste of resources.

Several organizations that support fluoride have pledged to raise money to help defray the cost to poor, beleaguered consumers. In my opinion, their cause would be better served by supplying every child in elementary school with a new toothbrush and a new tube of toothpaste every month. Teaching children the importance of good dental health is the first step. It would go to the root of the problem.

Poor dental health cannot be solved by mass-medicating everyone. Common sense tells me that cutting out the sugary sodas and fruit juices that children seem to be weaned on nowadays would go a lot further than spending money we don’t have, just to be flushed down the toilet.

JENNIFER BALZER

Wichita

Safe, effective

Evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the past 65 years proves that putting fluoride into the water supply is safe and effective in reducing dental decay by approximately 25 percent over a person’s lifetime. The amount of money spent on startup and maintenance costs of a system that puts fluoride into the water supply is pennies on the dollar compared with the cost of thousands of low-income or no-income children who suffer from dental decay.

Opponents of fluoride say they have concerns about expensive startup and maintenance costs, dental fluorosis, cardiac disease, lower IQs in children, and bone fractures with long-term high-level use. It seems the individuals with the greatest opposition to fluoridating the water supply are those who have access to dental care and good nutrition. It is not these individuals we are worried about, but rather the thousands of Kansas kids who receive poor nutrition and inadequate dental care. Out of all the things we spend our money on, preventing dental decay should be one of them. It is the moral thing to do.

K.C. CLARK

Hillsboro

Hicks independent

Voters who reside in newly formed Kansas House District 105 in west Wichita have a refreshing opportunity to elect a quality candidate with an independent outlook and an eagerness to make government work: Liz Hicks.

Although she has never run for public office before, Hicks has excellent personal and professional qualifications for the House. She is a community pharmacist with more than 40 years of experience – that means a superior education in math and hard science, as well as 40 years of intimate knowledge of the medical industry and of local business. Hicks has proved her concern for the betterment of public life and her knowledge of public issues of health, safety and fairness through an admirable record of service on agencies such as the Wichita Commission on the Status of Women, the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging, and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Board of Health.

Hicks would be a valuable addition to any group concerned with complex challenges of funding, efficiency and fairness.

The GOP and the radical agenda of Gov. Sam Brownback already are well-represented in the Legislature. We need every sound alternative perspective that we can bring to the mix. We need the vibrant spirit and strong work ethic that Liz Hicks could bring.

NOVELENE ROSS

Wichita

Vote for Newton

Judge Richard Ballinger is too comfortable in the seat he has held for 20 years. His conduct reflects a judge who is coasting through to his golden years. His opponent, Zoe Newton, is new on the scene and not in the good ol’ boys club. This will ensure she achieves her goals to apply the laws in a consistent manner and make decisions based on the facts. She has the additional Republican values we all are responsible to preserve.

Join me in casting a vote for Zoe Newton for Sedgwick County District Court, Division 13.

HAYLEY BIEKER

Clearwater

Better vision

It is time for a sensible Sedgwick County Commission. What’s wrong with it? There is not a government dollar offered that the majority, three commissioners, can say “no” to. The strings or government dictates that come with the money are ignored.

The three commissioners – Tim Norton, Dave Unruh and Jim Skelton – voted to accept a $1.5 million grant that serves the United Nations’ Agenda 21. It is part of the U.N.’s grand plan for a world government.

Ben Sauceda, an associate pastor and Republican activist, is challenging Norton for the District 2 commissioner’s seat. Norton was first elected in 2000 and has served 12 years. It is time for “old dogs” lacking vision to go. Vote for Sauceda and a better vision for Sedgwick County.

JACQUELINE NAGEL

Wichita

Biased headline

As any economist will attest, you can make statistics show any result you want by simply picking the statistics you use. The headline of the McClatchy Newspapers story “Official: Attack on Benghazi consulate was unstoppable” (Oct. 11 Eagle) was a perfect example of picking statements from five hours of hearings trying to steer the readers to the conclusion you want them to reach.

As one who watched and listened to the entire congressional inquiry, I can say that headline – the only part of the story many people read – could not have been further from the truth of what was said by Eric Nordstrom, the former chief security officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, throughout his testimony. Financial restraints had nothing to do with the refusal by the State Department for more security help in Libya.

Nordstrom and Lt. Col. Andrew Wood stressed over and over that the lack of facility security and well-trained security (special forces) personnel left the consulate in Benghazi a “sitting duck.” They both stated they fully expected an attack.

I think the administration’s total lack of honesty on the Benghazi attack is made even worse by twisted newspaper stories to aid that scenario.

SKEET WIGGINS

Wichita

Innovative efforts

“Medicine from the prairie” (Oct. 7 Eagle) highlighted University of Kansas research on the anti-cancer properties of the wild tomatillo plant of Kansas. “Scientists from around the world are now noticing,” the article said.

Kansas is home base for another worldwide scientific endeavor to better understand and control the underlying causes of cancer. On Oct. 5-6, physicians from seven countries and 18 states gathered at the Riordan Clinic in Wichita, the site of the third Intravenous Vitamin C and Cancer Symposium. The meeting’s theme – “Is Cancer a Non-Healing Wound?” – portrayed an exciting new focus in cancer care.

The Riordan Clinic recently published research that shows how chronic inflammation can trigger and perpetuate cancer. Better diet, exercise and pharmacologic doses of vitamin C can modify the cellular environment that sustains cancer growth. Results include less cancer pain, better appetite and energy, reduced side effects from chemotherapy and improved quality of life.

The Riordan Clinic and KU are two examples that Kansas is innovative in efforts to improve cancer prevention and care. The medical community worldwide is taking note.